Roman Catholicism

Catalog description

James Joyce famously called Roman Catholicism the "Here comes everybody" tradition, offering an apt description for a faith community made up of both sinners and saints, martyrs and missionaries, defenders and detractors all. This course on Roman Catholicism begins from the assumption that it is fundamentally a tradition of paradox, which establishes constancy through change and firmness through fluidity. Students will explore Roman Catholicism less as a set of definite beliefs and moral precepts, and more as a world-shaping perspective that forms Catholics to see and to be in distinctive ways. Finally, the course will address head-on a range of serious challenges confronting Roman Catholicism today, including widespread disaffiliation, clergy abuse, Magisterial teaching on gender and sexuality, women's ordination, and racism and anti-Judaism in the tradition.